The Indus Valley

#TheCompleteSeries6lessons

These Indus Valley lesson plans come fully prepared and ready to deliver to your class. There is a detailed plan for each lesson, an engaging slideshow for every teaching input, differentiated activity ideas and a range of printable resources, including worksheets, picture cards, information sheets and much more! All the planning and research has been done for you so all you have to do is download, teach and enjoy learning about the Indus Valley civilisation with your class!

#Lesson1FindingouttheBasics

The first lesson in this Indus Valley series starts by asking your children to locate Pakistan and India on a map, then getting them to think about why the Indus Valley civilisation developed in that location. They will also be shown a timeline showing the civilisation's height and what was happening around the world and in Britain at that time. The lesson ends by encouraging the children to think about what they now know about the civilisation as well as questions they would like to find the answers to themselves.

This ready-to-teach lesson comes fully planned and ready to deliver with an easy-to-follow lesson plan, a detailed slideshow for the teaching input, differentiated activity ideas and a range of printable resources to support children as they learn about some of the archaeological sites of the Indus Valley.

#Lesson2CitiesandSettlements

This Indus Valley Cities and Settlements lesson gives your KS2 class a brief overview of the settlements of the Indus Valley civilisation and looks at some of the ways historians and archeologists have been able to find out about the lives of people who lived thousands of years ago. Comparisons are made between the Indus settlements and Bronze Age Britain settlements to help your class understand how advanced the civilisation was.

Your class will look at a variety of Indus settlements including when they were founded, when they were rediscovered and when they were excavated. They will be encouraged to think about why excavations of some settlements took longer than others. Alternatively your class will make their own baked bricks that are similar to those used in Indus buildings.

#Lesson3CityPlanning

This Indus Valley City Planning KS2 History lesson starts by challenging your class to compare the layout of London and New York and decide which city's layout is similar to the layout of Indus Valley settlements. They will find out about the features and facilities found in Indus settlements and think about what it would have been like to live there. You class will either look in detail at the Indus city of Lothal or they will find out about when and why the first sewer system was developed in Britain.

With an easy-to-follow lesson plan, an engaging slideshow for the teaching input, differentiated activity ideas and a range of printable resources, this Indus Valley City Planners lesson is completely ready for your to download and teach.

#Lesson4TradeandCrafts

In this Indus Valley Trade and Crafts lesson, your KS2 class will explore why trade was important to the Indus Valley people, what was traded and who they traded with. They will use their investigative skills to decide what they think different artefacts were used for. Alternatively your Year 4 class can make their own Indus seals, thinking carefully about keeping their designs authentic.

This Indus Valley Trade and Crafts lesson is completely planned and ready for you to deliver to your class. There's a detailed lesson plan, an engaging set of slides for the teaching input. differentiated activity ideas and a range of printable resources to support your children as they explore Indus Valley trade.

#Lesson5Technology

This fascinating Indus Valley Technology lesson teaches your KS2 class about Indus Valley mathematical achievements, specifically an accurate system of weight and measure. They will be encouraged to think about why having a uniform system of measure is important, including exploring different systems of measure used around the world today. Alternatively they will investigate how easy it is to make their own weights and rulers to the Indus specifications!

This fun lesson contains everything you need to teach your class about Indus Valley technology, including a lesson plan, a slideshow for the teaching input, differentiated activity ideas, and a range of printable resources to support children in their independent learning tasks.

#Lesson6DeclineoftheIndusValleyCivilisation

The final lesson in this series starts by exploring the decline of the Indus Valley civilisation. The children are taken through some of the different theories about why the civilisation declined and disappeared, before considering which of the theories is most likely based on the evidence provided. They will be encouraged to chose appropriate evidence to support their decision and come up with a persuasive argument as to why their chosen theory is the most likely.

This lesson is fully planned and ready to deliver to your class, with a lesson plan, slideshow for the teaching input, differentiated activity ideas and a range of printable resources to support your class as they explore the decline of the Indus Valley civilisation.

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Curriculum Objectives covered

• KS2 - the achievements of the earliest civilizations – an overview of where and when the first civilizations appeared and a depth study of one of the following: Ancient Sumer; The Indus Valley; Ancient Egypt; The Shang Dynasty of Ancient China